Standard Life

EFG Asset Management is set to launch an M&A tracker fund led by global chief investment officer Mozamil Afzal, together with head of equity research Robin Milway.

The pace of the economic recovery in the UK has taken economists by surprise in the last year, prompting a number of upwards revisions for GDP growth.

Ignis Asset Management has converted its £1.2bn UK Property fund into a Property Authorised Investment Fund (PAIF) in a bid to offer investors a tax-efficient way to access the vehicle.

Standard Life Investments' Daniel McKernan has been buying in to bank debt in his £585m Corporate Bond fund as moves by regulators to shore up balance sheets seem set to boost prices.

Standard Life's Q1 figures have been bolstered by further inflows into SLI's flagship GARS fund, but elsewhere the group said it had seen annuity sales fall 50% after March's Budget announcement.

THE BIG INTERVIEW

London's Gherkin skyscraper has entered receivership after one of its owners filed for insolvency.

Annuity provider Just Retirement has launched a one-year annuity following sweeping pension reforms announced in the recent Budget.

The UK Equity Income sector's total return outstripped other income-focused offerings in the last year, easily surpassing Asian, European and global equity market products. Does that make now a good time to switch?

Bond managers are becoming more bearish on peripheral Europe corporate debt, turning to core names and the US as spreads tighten to post-crisis lows.